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Early voting approved in Ohio

Husted had been accepting boards’ recommendations for hours on the disputed days in the event his appeal wasn’t successful.

About an hour after the high court’s decision, Husted ordered uniform hours across the state. The hours are from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 3; from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 4; and from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 5.

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Husted said that despite the high court’s ruling, he believes the Ohio Legislature, not the federal courts, should set the voting rules.

“However, the time has come to set aside the issue for this election,” he said in a statement.

Husted said the new statewide hours on the three days will give Ohioans the same opportunities to vote regardless of their home county.

Bob Bauer, general counsel for Obama for America, praised the Supreme Court’s decision.

“We now turn our full attention to educating Ohio voters on when and how they can vote along with presenting the clear choice they face when selecting their next president,” Bauer said in a statement.

Democrats and Republicans in Ohio have been sparring for more than a year over the state’s early voting hours. The issue has essentially broken down along party lines, with Democrats favoring longer hours and Republicans opposed.

Shortly after the Supreme Court ruling, the Ohio Democratic Party’s chairman used it to make a fundraising appeal to contributors.

“This is proof that you are making a difference,” Chairman Chris Redfern wrote in an email.

Election officials in some of Ohio’s smaller, rural counties already have expressed disappointment over the new weekend hours because they’re concerned about the cost of keeping their doors open, said Aaron Ockerman, executive director of the Ohio Association of Election Officials.

The bipartisan group hasn’t taken a position on the new hours. Ockerman said the association’s members were “all over the map” in their recommendations to Husted on the hours.

Larger, urban counties had typically allowed weekend voting ahead of Election Day to try to curb long lines at the polls.

The top county official in Cleveland said he thought the hours could have been more convenient, but he isn’t complaining about what the cost might be to the elections board.

“To be open for a few hours on the weekend is worth it,” said Cuyahoga County Executive Ed FitzGerald, a Democrat.